The NBA Playoffs: So Much More Than Basketball

It's about that time of year again. For NBA players entering the postseason, it's the time when all those tireless hours spent toiling away in the gym come to truly mean something...or so they hope. Because at the end of the day, they've got to be able to look back at themselves in the mirror and answer the question, "Was it all worth it?"
"Did I accomplish what I set out to?"
"Did I fail?"
"Myself?"
"My fans?"
"My team?"
"What could I have done better?"
"Will they blame me?"
"Is this good enough?"
"...am I good enough?"

These questions, and a million more, race inside their heads as they stand motionless, staring back at the man in the mirror. The tough thing about sports is that for there to be a winner, somebody has got to lose. And all too often, it's traumatizing, emotional event. Winning can be one of the greatest joys in the world, everyone celebrates. But losing...losing just leaves you with a million what-ifs.

All but 15 men will go home empty-handed when all is said and done. All but 15 will have to come to terms with the fact that their best simply wasn't good enough. All but 15 will have to wonder, what if? And hopefully they'll have an answer.

This is for them. These words are for those who go home broken-hearted. Never give up. The greatest men of in the history of our existence have failed countless times in their pursuit of success. The only way to truly lose is to give up. For every time you are brought down, you must rise.  Michael Jordan failed to win the championship for six years in Chicago before he was finally able to win. He went on to be the greatest basketball player of all time.

And for those who dare to dream, the losses will be hard. Losing is a part of life. And although it's a child's lesson, all but 15 men will have to learn that lesson the hard way this postseason. Most of these players have been playing basketball all of their lives. They grew up on it, learned to pride themselves on it. It instilled a confidence in them, it gave them wealth. It gave them everything. And so to lose at this point really does something to a person. When this is what you live for, it's an awfully bitter pill to swallow. When this is what matters the most to you, there's no silver lining. It's just hard.

But that's the reality of it. Competition is all about those who win and those who lose, and this NBA playoff series will be no different. The players know it. The fans know it. Everyone knows that everything these men have lived for their entire lives is coming to a head in the near future.

And so I ask you, the reader, how you would deal with it? You would you deal with the fact in a few shorts weeks, you're either holding that trophy or you're walking away with nothing. How do you live with yourself if everything you could possibly muster just wasn't enough?

This is their job. This is their life. And we often don't think twice about it. They take this game more seriously than we realize. And for those great few who are hoisting victory high above their heads, good for you. You're a champion. But you know what? I, for one, will remember all those who didn't quite make it. All those who had to make the long journey home empty-handed. To the Steve Nash's and Dirk Nowitzki's of the world, I'll remember you.

This NBA playoffs series will be one of the greatest in recent history. And for all those involved, it's truly remarkable to have made it this far. And so, for this bright shining moment, let's not think of the blood, sweat and tears that will be shed, let's all just remember how far they've come.

The Impostors Among Us

I decided that I'm going use this week's blog post to write about the scourge of the Earth. You know who I'm talking about. Those no-good, low-down, dirty pretenders who lurk in our stadiums, attend our sports bars, and make false claims about what city they represent. In short, the fair-weather fan.

Fair-weather fans. We all know them. We've all seen them, or heard them pretend to know what the hell they're talking about. Being born in Houston, I've had to deal with a great number of these in my time. Since winning back-to-back NBA Championships in 1994-95, the Houston Rockets have done their best to keep themselves competitive, but continue to fall short in the playoffs or miss the playoffs entirely. Being a true Rockets fan, I don't let it get to me. After all, win or lose, they're still my team.

And it is when you find your beloved team on the losing end that you find out who your true fans are. It's easy to go to a couple games and scream your heart out when your team is doing well. It's hard to stand by the team you believe in when they're getting killed every week. And right about the time that great winning streak grinds to a halt is about the same time you'll start to see all kinds of people walking around in another team's jersey (#DallasCowboysFansInHouston). Have they no pride? Have they no sense? No. They have neither, because they're a fair-weather fan.

Now it's not always easy to spot a fair-weather fan, as they are masters of disguise. Here I managed to find a photo of a family of fair-weather fans in their natural habitat.

As you can see here, the young child's first reaction is to resist, but he can only do so much.
The tragedy is real.
Photo taken courtesy of feedthebutton.com

Yes, it is sad. But unfortunately, fair-weather fans aren't always this easy to identify. And even when you think you've run into someone you can trust, you must first test them to see if they're simply a wolf in sheep's clothing. Next time you're chatting about your team with someone else who claims to be a fan, ask them a few probing questions to ensure their honesty.

Here is a step-by-step example of how to do so.

First you've got to start off by allowing them to think that you're completely unaware of their intentions. Remain vague in your statements, so as to draw them into a false sense of security. Give it a few minutes and then hit them with a general question like: So what do you think of the new guys on the team this year? (This should allow you to see if your new friend has actually been paying attention to the team)

Next, you have to test their knowledge of the sport and its players. A great follow-up question would be something similar to: Don't you wish we could have gotten the trade for Brian Scalabrine in before the trade deadline? (This question is a trap, Scalabrine is terrible.)

Now, once you've for the first two questions down, it's time to hit them with the big one. A test of their knowledge of the team's legacy. Chances are, even if they haven't been watching the sport long, they will at least know the players that made the team famous. But the trick here is to get a little more specific. Here's an example: I miss Hakeem (you should substitute Hakeem for the name of a well-known Hall of Famer from your team). What year was it that we won the championship again?


This final question should give you all the information you need to determine whether or not your new associate is, in fact, a fair-weather fan. If you're unfortunate enough to be discover that the person you're chatting with is actually a disingenuous poser, you should smile politely, make up some excuse for why you need to leave the area, and find another place to sit/stand/drink/etc.

This should provide you with the basics of what you'll need to know to avoid fair-weather fans. And while I can't possibly begin to go into all the complexities of their behavior, the experience is a learning process and every encounter you have will help to better prepare you for the next time.

Be warned: Once you become proficient at identifying the loud-mouthed imposters for who they really are, you'll soon come to a frightening realization...they're loud, they're stupid...and they're everywhere.

Godspeed.

The Noche Latina

If you speak Spanish, you're probably bothered by the fact that the title of this article is written in half-assed Spanish. After all, if you're going to write 2/3 of the title in Spanish, why not just commit and do it all in Spanish?

My question exactly for the NBA.

I completely understand that they're trying to appeal to one of their demographics. And don't get me wrong, some of what they're doing is great. Having participating teams host in-arena activities such as Latin-themed music, performances and giveaways is wonderful. They're even selling special game jerseys. It's great.

Except for one thing. I don't know who's idea this was, but someone somewhere decided that it would be in everyone's best interests to leave half the name of the teams participating in Noche Latina untranslated. That means that we have teams running around with "El Heat" and "Los Lakers" jerseys. Can you think of anything lazier than that? I for one, am thoroughly disappointed. Admittingly, some translations could prove to be more difficult than others, but seriously, The Bulls could easily have been "Los Toros," the Heat could easily have been "El Calor" and so on.

The current Noche Latina jersey for the Chicago Bulls. I know, "Los Toros" would be so much cooler.

 Photo taken courtesy of dimemag.com

The entire point behind this choice was to celebrate the Hispanic fans, but by being half-hearted with the coolest part of this campaign, the NBA is doing a disservice to both American AND Hispanic fans. By translating only half the names of the teams, they're essentially just promoting the idea that putting El or Los in front of a team name, you're making it Spanish, which is dead wrong.

The only possible excuse I could see the NBA using is that fully translating the team names might confuse people. But even that doesn't hold much water when the announcers say the teams' names at least once every 6 seconds, not to mention the box score in the lower right hand corner of the television screen. Ultimately, any possible reasoning just doesn't hold up. If you're going to do something cool for your Hispanic viewers, then do it. The NBA failed to commit and as a result, has probably frustrated quite a few people in the process.

But as always, there is a silver lining. Siempre hay el próximo año. -There's always next year.

Money Talks, Players Walk

It seems to me that these days players in the NBA are more and more about themselves and less and less about their team...the LeBron James's of the world have far too much influence on the sport itself. Now whether that be a result of spectacular talent or spectacular sensationalism is a matter of opinion.

More important is that people are often quick to brand players as traitors for leaving their teams in search of greener pastures, when the real issue here lies below the surface. 

In the current day and age of the NBA, being a team player doesn't always work out.

Time and time again, players who have stuck by their team through thick and thin have become trade fodder so that teams can protect their own interests, which more often than not, are to make more money. 

Gerald Wallace, formerly of the Charlotte Bobcats, was traded against his will to the Portland Trail Blazers. If you ask Gerald Wallace, he'll tell you how betrayed he feels and how he had planned on retiring in Charlotte.

Chauncey Billups (recently traded from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks) was heavily against the trade in which he was part of a package deal with Carmelo Anthony. Chauncey wanted nothing to do with the trade, but because he as a player is seen as an asset to be bargained with, he'll be wearing a Knicks jersey for at least the rest of this season.

If you ask me, it's incidents like this that work against the very idea of the players having any sort of team loyalty. How can you be loyal to a team who'd sell you out at the first chance it gets? I certainly wouldn't be loyal to anyone I thought was liable to screw me over.

Moreover, it's not right that players should be so heavily criticized for being "selfish and greedy" when the very teams they play for are almost always, 10 times as selfish and greedy as the players could ever hope to be.

The simple fact of the matter is that the NBA, like all other professional sports, is a business. And the tough thing about businesses is that people don't come first. At the end of the day, it's about making money.

So while Gerald Wallace, among others, may not like the way he was treated, it's the harsh reality of the world he has chosen to live in. All the love in the world doesn't protect you from being the first one to go.

Welcome to the NBA, where if the money talks, the players walk.

The Heat Check

The Miami Heat are a basketball team with a lot of question marks looming over their heads. Caught in a seemingly endless cycle of incredible winning streaks and horrendous losing streaks, no one seems to know what to make of the new Heat team.

But both fans and players alike can chalk up the Heat's late-game struggles to two things: too much LeBron and not enough Wade. Dwyane Wade, known as one of the best closers in the game, has been all but invisible during the final possessions of their recent close losses.

Instead, the team has consistently looked to LeBron to finish these games with a one-on-one isolation play, and consistently, LeBron has failed to do so.

And while it's easy to criticize one player, there are often greater problem lying just below the surface. Before you get to thinking that LeBron is the root of all evil for this team, consider who's drawing up the plays. 

If you ask me, Erik Spoelstra, the Heat's coach, isn't receiving nearly enough criticism for his role in the Heat's losses.

The Heat's bench has scored less than 10 points more than a few games this season, meaning two things: the rotation the Heat have been using isn't properly utilizing all of their players, and LeBron and Wade are having to carry too much of the load in terms of scoring.

Guess what both those things have in common. They're both Erik Spoelstra's fault. He needs to find a way to properly utilize ALL the talent available to him, not just his two best players. Last time I checked, Chris Bosh was still on the team...somewhere.

Basketball is a team game and the Miami Heat, players and coaches alike, need to do a better job of utilizing theirs.

With playoffs just around the corner, the Heat need to get their act together if they expect to have a realistic chance to winning a championship this year.